Butler County Genealogy Trails Kansas Susan B. Allen Bio

Butler County’s Eighty Years ~ 1855-1935

by Jessie Perry Stratford

A History of Butler County Biographical Sketches and Portraits with Foreword by Rolla A. Clymer

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vator and other extensions were built to the Whitewater Flour Mills, totaling about $75,000. The mills company consists of Paul Ross, his father and brothers; L. E. Zimmerman and others, and employs from thirty to fifty men.

The Federated Union Church, which is a union of the Lutheran, Reformed, an Christian churches, has R. L. Hendrickson as pastor. H. E. Ross is pastor of the Methodist Church. Whitewater merchants are A. H. Penner, department store; W. H. Lambert and Ralph Lambert, general merchandise; J. B. Hazlett, drug store; Fred Breising; Whitewater Meat Market; L. M. Pace and Son, and Pete Neuman, hardware stores; E. F. Lowther, hardware; C. H. Bruhn, implements; R. G. Kirkwood, Lumber Company; Ed Dow and L. E. Dow, Whitewater Produce Company; Hylas and H. M. Smith; furniture and undertaking; J. R. Gladfelter, Carl Hindman and A. O. Lamer, cafes; Dan Resnik and H. F. Bruhn, blacksmith Shop; F. L. Gronau, Chevrolet Agency; George Stewart, garage; W. F. Kennard, garage; C. J. Smith, White Eagle Oil Station; A. O. Lamer, Skelly Oil Station; L. S. Foster, filling station; Ralph Ryan, Electric Supply Shop; George P. Smith, shoe shop; Charles Wilson, dry cleaning; F. L. Worline, paint and wallpaper; Joe Motter, William Reffner and A. O. Lamer, barber shops. Harry Mellor and J. M. Thompson are realtors.

Whitewater has a Woman’s Study Club, the Plus and Minus Club and the Priscilla Club.

Brainerd, three miles east of Whitewater, has a population of fifty, with Mr. and Mrs. Levi Mellor as the pioneer settlers. Mrs. J. E. Graves owns the general store which she and her daughter, Miss Esther, manage. Mrs. Wilson is the Missouri Pacific agent and M. Hinkson and his son operate the elevator. J. M. Puckett has a blacksmith shop and garage. H. J. Wiebe, G. A. Harder and C. B. Thierstein are members of the school board. Mrs. S. E. Brumback, aged 97, is the oldest resident.

Mrs. Mina Silknitter is postmistress at Rose Hill. George Bannon has a general store. N. C. Pickett, H. C. Moore and J. A. Hall are members of the Rose Hill board of education; Earl R. Carl, John M. Davies and Ira L. Stanley are members of the Richland Consolidated school board.

J. M. Rollins, Henry Cease and Ivan L. Glaze are members of the school board at Gordon and C. G. Winslow, A. R. James and R. H. Grier are school board members at Andover.

Josephine Johnson is postmaster at Beaumont. J. C. Squier, W. E. McElroy and W.A. Hutton are members of the school board. This Squier store is long established.

Floyd Burner, Mrs. H. I. Brower and A. J. Cousins comprise the Haverhill Consolidated school board. Midian school board comprises J. W. Flowers, Troy Groves and Andrew J. Morris.

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HAZFORD PLACE HEREFORD HERD

Lying almost immediately adjoining El Dorado is Butler County’s greatest pride. It is Hazford Place, home of the world famus Robert H. Hazlett herd of purebred Hereford cattle. It represents thirty years of careful, studious, scientific effort upon the part of Mr. Hazlett, who not only had the ambition to benefit the great livestock industry, but who also had the financial ability to be patient and sustain the heavy losses in time and money in his determined zeal to test the myriad methods of purebred livestock development until he found precisely the strain he desired.

Hazford Place, like the vast oil industry of this region, is given a special chapter in this volume, not because it is a show place, but because of the wide fame it has brought and is continuing to bring to this county, and because of the incalculable benefit it has been to one of the largest industries of modern times – that of livestock. The subject admittedly is too large for review except by one trained in that business and experienced and familiar with the history of the industry. Therefore, that coming generations may know accurately the extent of the influence of Hazford Place, a specially prepared article, written by no less renowned authority than Alvin Howard Sanders, and appearing in June, 1929, in one of the great Curtis Publications, Philadelphia, is reproduced, in full, with the exception of certain biographical data of Mr. Hazlett himself, the sketch of whom appears in the biographical section of this book. Under the title of “Hazlett and His Herefords – a Master Breeder Whose Herd is an Inspiration to American Cattlemen,” Mr. Sanders writes:

The Saddle and Sirloin Club of Chicago is known all over the world. It is a real oasis in a wilderness of cattle pens and packing houses. Its unique distinction is based primarily upon its possession of a great picture gallery, made up of oil portraits of men who have attained high place in connection with the world’s bovine progress. There is nothing like it elsewhere in any country. Invitiations to visit are prized not only by leading American farmers and stock breeders, but by foreign visitors as well. There was recently placed upon its walls a specially executed portrait of Robert H. Hazlett. Now it so happens that admission to this particular Hall of Fame is not readily attained. It is a recognition reserved for those who are generally credited with having done something decidedly worth while – something really constructive in a field already rich in records of high achievement.

In Southern Central Kansas, just beyond that apparent extension of the Ozarks known as the Flint Hills, where cattle in great numbers still are grazed, the tent was pitched and there in the El Dorado of his dreams he still abides. The young farm-bred lawyer first combined the practice of his profession with the buying and selling of land. He gradually extended his holdings until he possessed 10,000 acres in Butler County. Then came the urge to stock with good cattle. The first were bought in 1898. The “Whitefaces” had already won their way all over the Western range, and logically he reasoned that they would thrive famously upon the sweet grasses of his own rolling limestone prairies. The Hereford has a reputation for making more beef off grass than any other breed, but many of the original specimens imported from England were deficient in length and fullness of hind quarter. Chief among those who had by selection and close breeding overcome this defect were Gudgell and Simpson, of Independence, Missouri, and it was from stock of that derivation that the now world-famous collection of some 600 head of perfectly balanced cattle at Hazford Place had descended. It will be noted that the word “Hazford” is a combination of Hazlett and Bradford, the maiden name of Mrs. Hazlett. We must first detour long enough, at this point, to develop one of the high spots in American bovine history – the visit of Gov. T. A. Simpson to Herefordshire, England, in 1881, in quest of a bull to serve as the basis of a great experiment in modifying an established type. In no other way can be obtained a good understanding of Robert Hazlett’s work. The Severn vale in the west of England, with all its greenery of pasture, orchard and garden, affords an ideal setting for the picture of the Hereford herds. It was in that fair land in the summer of 1873 that baby Helena trudged by her mother’s side amidst the buttercups and daises of Tom Carwardine’s field near Leominister. The little lassie from the very first was noted for her beauty, as she approached maturity it was ob-

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vious that she was growing into a particularly choice specimen of her ancient race. At the height of her bloom and shapeliness she captivated all visitors at the show, including royalty. So Helen grew up an object of special adulation because she was so singularly free from faults which many of her contemporaries had inherited; and presently a son to her was born through which bovine wonders were subsequently to be worked in far distant lands. There had been some little concern on the part of those most interested in connection with the advent of this then unsuspected Adam of a new race, and he had been by reason of that fact named Anxiety. Solicitude, however, proved groundless. Once weaned, there was introduced into the best Hereford society in 1877 at one year old a young bull which found the same instant favor that Helena had enjoyed. Like his mother he had nicer horns and better thighs and quarters than any of his relatives. Great events in the Hereford cattle-breeding world were now impending. One day in the summer of 1881 a tall, lanky American – not a bad replica of the traditional Uncle Sam – arrived in the ancient city of Hereford. He hailed from the state of Missouri. This was the era when American first began buying heavily of the English Herefords for importation and Helena’s bull, Anxiety, had been brought out into Illinois by a prominent member of the Chicago Board of Trade of those day, C. M. Culbertson, who owned a wonderful farm in Douglas County. Governor Simpson had seen this remarkable bull before starting for England, and admired him so much for his forward finish and his extraordinary quarters that he resolved to buy one of his sons if he could fine one on the other side that had inherited his sire’s desired characteristics. Simpson was not a real governor, but had been born in Kentucky in antebellum days, was a sympathizer with the Southern cause and a busy stockman in a border state during the Civil War, living in a section where most everybody who was anybody had a title of some kind; so Mr. Simpson became by common community consent “Governor.” He made several trips to Great Britain for the purpose of cattle. In this undertaking he revealed a judgment amounting almost to genius. Governor Simpson’s selection and importation of the Hereford bull Anxiety 4th – the great son of Anxiety which he succeeded in buying from Mr. Carwardine – and the Aberdeen – Angus bull, Knight of St. Patrick, place to his credit a score absolutely unequalled in the annals of American selection abroad of sires of the beef-making types. At this date all the teaching was to the effect that close breeding, particularly in-and-in breeding, was to be avoided at all times, so that practically none of the early Hereford importers had the courage to resort to the old Bakewellian scheme. All agreed that the heads and horns ought to be refined, and that the thighs and quarters could be better filled, but most of them set about to accomplish this through selection only, which while promising success in the long run may not bring immediate results. Gudgell & Simpson believed that blood concentration alone could be depended upon to work swiftly. Everybody was ready enough to cry “I told you so” when the closely bred, full quartered, clean-headed Anxieties began showing some slackness around the heart. Gudgell & Simpson listened to the repeated admonitions of their friends and brought out from England a bull to be used as an outcross in the herd. The first affect of this was altogether disappointing, but they decided to fight it out along the Anxiety lines, recovery of individual merit was registered. Some wonderful animals rewarded their efforts. The size of the herd enabled them to obtain a certain percentage of fresh blood through the dams of the bulls chosen from time to time for service. Undoubtedly the most valuable son of Anxiety 4th was Don Carlos, and it is to him that may be attributed most of the success finally attained by Gudgell and Simpson. Don Carols gave to the herd in turn that splendid producer, Beau Brummel, whose sons and grandsons, with their blood strongly concentrated, are to this day producing grand-champion animals for which latter results the country is primarily indebted to Robert H. Hazlett, of El Dorado. From Helena to the 600 head of Herefords at Hazlett Place the line of descent is clearly marked. Governor Simpson had faith enough in the power of close breeding and patience enough in facing its difficulty to carry the great experiment to a point where it afforded a solid basis upon which others might confidently build. Others have enthusiastically taken up the completion of the task of finishing the American type of Hereford. White-faces with

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bad horns and bad hind quarters are rarely seen today anywhere in the United States. The greatest single contribution toward this present-day standard of perfection is directly traceable to Helena.

Robert Hazlett is a student. He went carefully over the preliminary work of Gudgell & Simpson. He was assured by friends that they had already carried close breeding too far. As he had started his herd with some rather closely bred cattle, he harkened to this sort of talk and proceeded to put in a strong dash of fresh blood, but with disappointing results. His decision was to return to the straight Anxiety line as obtained through Don Carlos and his most extraordinary son, Beau Brummel. This is what he has discovered: Close blood concentration can be followed up much longer than was formerly deemed possible, provided that none but animals of sound constitution are mated. This limitation, let it be observed, admits of no variation whatsoever. The moment it is departed from, the two-edge sword begins to cut the wrong way, and ruin impends. In building his fame as one of the greatest stock breeders of modern times Robert Hazlett has taken the position that any animal that is not good enough to be used by himself is not good enough to be sold to somebody else for breeding purposes, and he has lived up to that principle. This not only accounts for a large measure of his success but illustrates the honesty with which his mind works. Few breeders possess either the nerve or the judgment to cast out rigidly the culls that are certain to appear even in the best of herds. Long prior to the date when Mr. Hazlett set out upon his quest in this field, there lived in Lincolnshire, England, one of the greatest cattle breeders of his time on the other side of the Atlantic. This was William Torr, of Aylesby Manor. He was a Shorthorn breeder, and at the end of his career closed out a herd of eighty-five head of cattle, all of his own production, which realized the great sum of $243,145, an average of $2860 per head, one cow bringing $12,000. Mr. Torr’s statement upon that occasion was to the effect that he had learned by experience that “it takes thirty years to make a herd, and bring it to one’s notion of perfection.” Similar testimony grown out of the splendid success rendered in our own country by William Alexander McHenry, the greatest of America’s constructive breeders of Aberdeen-Angus.

To these classic cases may now be added that of Robert Hazlett. For the allotted thirty years his work has gone forward to its goal. The records of the American show yard tell the story of the superb material this man has created. Prized by the score, grand championships galore, have sealed with blue and purple ribbons a record seldom equaled even by those who buy, as well as breed, their show animals. The Hazlett show cattle are all bred at Hazford Place. They are pre-eminently distinguished for their uniformity, substance, symmetry, quality, spread of rib, breadth of loin and depth of flesh smoothly disposed. Prepotency when introduced into other herds is assured because of their intense breeding. Past fourscore years, and possessed of an ample fortune, Robert H. Hazlett can now look back indeed upon a life well spent, his commanding ability devoted always to the good of his fellow men. One of the finest tributes ever paid to the genius and to the influence of Mr. Hazlett was in the nature of a Hereford Field Day at Hazford Place October 9, 1925. This was attended by cattle breeders and some of the most prominent agriculturists from all parts of the country. A special train was run from Kansas City. The crowd included cattle breeders and feeders from eight states. The day was spent in roaming about Hazford Place, enjoying a barbecue dinner and listening to a program, which included a number of addresses by some of the leading men in their line in the country.

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EL DORADO

The name El Dorado is of Spanish origin and translated means “The Gilded.” “El” is Spanish for “The” and “Dorado” means “Gilded.” The phrase is a contraction of El Hombre Dorado, meaning “The Gilded Man.”

Shortly after the discovery of America by Columbus, the Spanish explorers heard a tale of a people living in the northern Andes who held a yearly sacrifice of gold. At a certain time of the year, one of the finest-built young men of the nation would be stripped of his breech clout and would be adorned from toes to crown with gold dust. He would stand on the edge of a pool, facing the setting sun and would then dive into the water, thereby washing off the gold dust.

The Spaniards thought that a people with gold to sacrifice like that must be wealthy and they set out to find the gilded man, or, in Spanish, El Hombre Dorado, which they soon shortened to El Dorado. They finally found him in what now is western Venezuela and have long since despoiled his gold mines.

But before they found him, the craze for the discovery of the land of the gilded man spread all over the Spanish settlements. The Spaniards sought him in all parts of America. DeSoto and Coronado sought him in what now is the United States.

The story of the gilded man and his land rich in gold was told so often that the words El Dorado became a symbol of riches. It crept into the English language, and any rich country, particularly one abounding in gold, is spoken of as El Dorado. Several towns in the gold regions of the west are named El Dorado.

But how did El Dorado, Kansas, so far removed from the gold fields get is name?

Captain J. Cracklin, who was with the original El Dorado town company, which came to El Dorado in 1857 from Lawrence has written an account of the naming of the town. The party of which Cracklin was a member came down from Lawrence in quest of land in southern Kansas. They struck the old Osage Trail, somewhere east of El Dorado. As they came west, and topped the brow of the hill above the Walnut that overlooks the valley, Cracklin says that he exclaimed: “El Dorado!” And well he might. It was evening and the sun was setting. The valley was gilded in the sunset glow.

Later the town site was selected right west of the river and Cracklin proposed that it be called El Dorado. His proposition was seconded by Thomas Cordis and the name which had been coined in the days of the Spanish conquistadors came to Kansas.

Cracklin, who proposed the name, helped organize the town company, but later returned to Lawrence, where he wrote his account of the name of the town as he recollected it on December 11, 1882.

This letter published in Andreas’ History of Kansas shortly after its writing, is generally accepted as correct:

Lawrence, Kansas, December 11, 1882.

Dear Sir: - In reply to yours of the 7th inst., I would say the name El Dorado is two Spanish words, and signifies “The Golden land.” The beautiful appearance of the country upon our arrival at the Walnut, suggested the name, and I exclaimed, “El Dorado,” and when the town site was selected, the name was unanimously adopted. I proposed the name and Mr. Thomas Cordis seconded it.

Yours very truly, J. Cracklin.

The party which founded the original El Dorado laid out their town south of the present El Dorado just beyond the present city limits. In 1860 this town was established as a post office.

COUNTY SEAT STRIFE

After the Civil War, it was thought that a better town site lay a mile and one-half to the north of the old El Dorado. A saw mill on the Walnut River, with promise of a flour mill, was a factor in the change of site. There were no steam mills in Butler County then and no means of shipping in coal.